Workman's horror after he finds dead puppy in Sunderland grit box while cleaning site

A man has spoken of his shock and anger after finding a dead puppy while at work on a site in Sunderland.
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Craig William Rootham, of Witherwack, was working for Burleys at a site in Trimdon Street in Sunderland, cleaning for the retail park on Friday, January 24.

As part of his role, he has to maintain the site on a daily basis and check the grit boxes around the site to notify his boss if they need to be filled up.

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Shortly before 9.30am, upon opening one of the grit boxes close to the Halfords store, he found a dead puppy which had been put in the box. He believed that the puppy was a Labrador Retriever.

Craig was left shocked after finding the puppy in a grit box.Craig was left shocked after finding the puppy in a grit box.
Craig was left shocked after finding the puppy in a grit box.

He said: “It was horrifying to see. How could anyone do that to a dog?

“I felt sick to the core when I found it, being a dog owner myself.

“It was a young puppy as well. I just hope someone knows something and helps find out whose dog it was and why it was put there.”

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Craig called police on 101 and was directed to notify Sunderland City Council of what he had found.

The puppy was found near Halfords in Sunderland.The puppy was found near Halfords in Sunderland.
The puppy was found near Halfords in Sunderland.

Members of the RSPCA and the council collected dog and told Craig that they would be checking cameras for evidence of what happened on the site.

After being collected, the dog was in fact found to be a young Spaniel.

A spokesman for Sunderland City Council said: “Following a call from a member of the public, we can confirm that a dead Spaniel was removed from a council grit box in Trimdon Street on Friday, January 24.

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“The young dog was not chipped and following a seven day holding period for anyone to come forward and claim it, the dog was taken to the pet crematorium.”

As the body has been disposed of, sadly, the RSPCA has confirmed that they wouldn't be able to establish whether there was anything suspicious about the puppy’s death.

An RSPCA spokeswoman said: "If anyone has any concerns about animal welfare they can call the RSPCA cruelty line on 0300 1234 999."